HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) – Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett is firing back at Penn State officials for their criticism of the higher education budget cuts proposed in his budget address earlier this week (see related story).

As he seeks to close a more than $4 billion budget gap, Governor Corbett has proposed cutting $625 million in aid for the 14 state-owned universities and the four state-related schools -– Temple, Lincoln, Pitt, and Penn State.

Officials at Penn State immediately warned of dire consequences, including tuition hikes.

On KDKA radio in Pittsburgh on Friday, Corbett shot back, claiming that from 2000 to the present, Penn State got $3½ billion in state dollars while more than doubling tuition during the same period.

“They cannot argue that the money would prevent them from tuition increases, because when they got the money, they continued to increase tuitions,” Corbett charged. “That was stunning that they would scare the children and the parents of Pennsylvania.”